With well over thirty different enchantments available for gear, the choice can be a bit difficult. There are no wrong choices, as each character will have its own specialization, but there are a few that are incredibly powerful and recommended for the most generic Skyrim characters.
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Updated on January 5, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Skyrim is one of the best western RPGs of all time. Roaming this vast land and uncovering all the secrets within makes for a great time that fans won’t get tired of anytime soon. The mere fact that Skyrim is still talked about so passionately to this day more than a decade after its release is proof enough of just how much players absolutely love this masterpiece. Even something as simple as armor enchantments end up being a hot topic of debate in the game, and here are some of the best enchantments in Skyrim that players can use.
25 Fortify Lockpicking
Applicable To: Head, Hands, Amulets, Rings
During the Dragonborn’s adventures in Skyrim, they’ll come across their fair share of locked chests and containers. There’s nothing more infuriating than being faced with an impossibly hard lock that takes all of the player’s lockpicks after multiple failures. Thankfully, Fortify Lockpicking is an enchantment that can help with this issue.
It’s an enchantment that suits any character build, though the reason it ranks the lowest here is that Lockpicking as a skill will naturally develop quite quickly on most character builds, given the number of chests players have to pick. The real reason Fortify Lockpicking is good is mainly its ability to save players time making the picking easier and sparing them from wasting lockpicks.
24 Fortify Sneak
Applicable To: Hands, Feet, Amulets, Rings
Not to be confused with the Muffle effect, Fortify Sneak simply improves the wearer’s Sneak ability. It has nothing to do with moving more quietly. It simply lets the Dragonborn remain undetected for longer periods of time, as they would with a much higher Sneak skill.
Again, this enchantment is a bit more niche, but not by any means bad. In fact, it’s absolutely fantastic when paired with stealth character builds that rely on extremely high Sneak ability to perform in combat. Given how much fun it is to sneak around and one-shot enemies in the game, it’s obvious why players would love a bonus to their sneaking prowess… however temporary it may be.
23 Fortify Restoration
Applicable To: Head, Amulets, Chest, Rings
Restoration is one of the most useful skills that players can have in Skyrim, especially early on in the game when they don’t really have that many potions to rely on anyway. Having a Restoration Spell ensures that lack of healing items isn’t a deterrent to exploring this vast and dangerous world.
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With Fortify Restoration on a piece of body armor, players can easily increase the effectiveness of their healing spells. Of course, the lack of healing pretty much becomes a non-issue as players progress further into the game, but it’s still a good bonus to have regardless.
22 Fortify Alchemy
Applicable To: Head, Hands, Amulets, Rings
Alchemy might be something beginners or newcomers might consider useless, but it’s actually a skill tree that has become more powerful and important in the Skyrim community as years have gone by. As such, the Fortify Alchemy enchantment is really not a terrible option, if the character build the player chooses relies on it.
That said, it’s probably best to not put this enchantment on any main gear a character might have since there are overall just far better options out there. However, having one piece of gear with Fortify Alchemy at hand for potion-making, in particular, can be a good idea.
21 Fortify Block
Applicable To: Amulets, Hands, Shields, Rings
Blocking is critical to deflect some damaging attacks and negate the damage from such blows. Players who want defensive options to mess around will be pretty well-serviced by investing in the Block stat and a shield.
Of course, players can use the benefits of the Fortify Block enchantment to make things better for themselves too. It’s a simple yet great fortification that shield builds will have a great time with.
20 Resist Shock/Fire/Frost
Applicable To: Feet, Shields, Amulets, Rings
The three elements of Skyrim are common in most encounters players can expect to face while adventuring. While it depends largely on the type of enemies the Dragonborn faces, having a few pieces of gear with elemental resistance of any type on it is generally a good idea.
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That said, it’s also a bit redundant, given how easily most of these elements can be countered with alchemy potions. If a powerful boss is using Fire spells, it’s best to just prepare Resist Fire potions rather than wear Resist Fire gear. The cost of it is just way smaller since players will save up on Soul Gems for better enchantments. Ultimately, however, it’s a bit of a preference question, and elemental resistance is never an entirely bad idea either.
19 Waterbreathing
Applicable To: Head, Amulets, Rings
Players will be swimming around quite a bit in Skyrim. That being said, some people can argue that having an enchantment that lets players breathe infinitely in water is only situationally useful.
Regardless, waterbreathing is still a decent enchantment to have in the more waterlogged areas of Skyrim. Of course, it’s better to have this enchantment on a lighter secondary piece of armor instead.
18 Muffle
Applicable To: Feet
Though its ranking might be low, Muffle is actually an incredibly good enchantment to have. The only reason why it doesn’t deserve a spot much higher is that it is a bit niche compared to some other enchantments on this list. That said, it’s immensely powerful and a necessity in some character builds.
Muffle basically allows the player to move in complete silence, which makes stealth characters ridiculously overpowered. There are a few unique items in the game with this enchantment that are worth getting solely because of this.
17 Fortify Magicka
Applicable To: Head, Amulets, Hands, Rings
Magic builds in Skyrim are a ton of fun to use, although this means that players will have to keep track of Magicka. Running out of this useful resource means that hardcore magic users will be left vulnerable to the might of their enemies.
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Thankfully, the Fortify Magicka enchantment ensures that players have a bigger stock of Magicka with them. This ensures that little to no problems come in the way of a magic user’s casting.
16 Fortify Stamina
Applicable To: Chest, Amulets, Rings, Feet
Stamina is another stat that players need to keep track of in battle. Swinging a weapon is no easy feat, and every single swing or block takes away a chunk of the Dragonborn’s stamina.
With the Fortify Stamina enchantment, players can swing their weapons with a bit more confidence. Stamina management becomes slightly more manageable, which is a huge bonus for most players.
15 Fortify One-Handed
Applicable To: Hands, Feet, Amulets, Rings
One-handed builds are some of the most popular choices among players due to the versatility they bring along. It allows the creation of half-mage half-warrior characters for players who can’t quite decide whether to go for a full mage or full warrior build.
As such, adding Fortify One-Handed to enchanted armor is a great idea. It can be added to hands, feet, and any amulet or ring. Overall, it’s a nice boost to a player’s primary combat ability and one that shouldn’t be ignored.
14 Fortify Health
Applicable To: Chest, Shields, Amulets, Rings
When it comes to healing and overall health, Fortify Health isn’t the best possible option since it simply increases the character’s maximum health. When in a fight, it’s much better to have potions and gear that fortify the regeneration of health. That being said, for tanky characters, this is still a pretty good option.
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Fortify Health can be added to any chest piece, shield, amulet, or ring. Moreover, it’s found on a few unique items scattered around Skyrim, namely the Amulet of Arkay which can be found pretty commonly in the wild, as well as in the shield of Ysgramor found at the end of the Companions guild quest.
13 Resist Poison
Applicable To: Chest, Shields, Amulets, Rings
Poisons aren’t a majorly annoying thing in Skyrim, but they can be a real headache when the effects are chained from multiple targets like spiders. Resist poison can be added to any chest piece, shield, amulet, or ring as the player pleases.
There are some very powerful unique armors and pieces that provide this effect as well, namely the Ancient Shrouded Armor which gives the player 100% resistance to any poison. The Hevnoraak dragon priest mask also provides this protection, but a simple Shrouded Armor or the Savior’s Hide gives a decent 50% resistance.
12 Fortify Light Armor
Applicable To: Chest, Hands, Amulets, Rings
Light armor shouldn’t be ignored. It allows the player to stay light and quick on their feet, while still providing a bit of protection. Archers, namely stealth archers or otherwise stealthier characters will greatly benefit from any light armor buffs.
Fortify Light Armor can be put on any chest and hand armor piece, as well as rings and amulets. It buffs the general light armor skill rating for the player, and due to how versatile light armor is it’s a fantastic option for a number of builds.
11 Fortify Archery
Applicable To: Head, Hands, Amulets, Rings
Archers are a favorite among a lot of Skyrim players and for a good reason. It’s easy to take down enemies from afar and deal tons of damage with a powerful bow and poisonous arrows. It’s no wonder the stealth archer is consistently a favorite build for a multitude of players.
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Due to this, Fortify Archery is an incredibly powerful enchantment and a must-have for any archer type of character. It can be put on head and hand gear, as well as amulets and rings. Unique items found in the wild that have this include the Ancient Shrouded Cowl, the Krosis dragon priest mask, and the Gauntlets of the Old Gods.
10 Resist Disease
Applicable To: Chest, Shields, Amulets, Rings
Diseases are just one small aspect of the game that can be a bit annoying to deal with. While they won’t kill the player or make them completely bedridden for days, they do inflict the Dragonborn with some incredibly powerful negative modifiers that should be dealt with sooner rather than later.
This is why having Resist Disease on an armor piece isn’t a bad idea, as the player won’t have to use Cure Disease potions or seek out a healer in a city. It’s more for convenience.
9 Fortify Carry Weight
Applicable To: Hands, Feet, Amulets, Rings
Another convenient enchantment is without a doubt Fortify Carry Weight. Although Carry Weight does get adjusted with each point that’s dedicated to Stamina by the player, sometimes players might want to use their points on other attributes, which results in their carrying weight being extremely low.
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Anyone knows an adventure in Skyrim is usually rich in loot, sometimes rather heavy loot. It’s why this bonus on a piece of gear is a fantastic quality-of-life improvement for any hoarding Dragonborns.
8 Fortify Smithing
Applicable To: Chest, Hands, Amulets, Rings
Players that really care about making money and building up experience quickly will want to invest in enchantments like Fortify Smithing. It will increase the Smithing skill of the wearer, allowing for the creation of better-quality items.
Not only is this great for leveling up, but it’s also amazing for any player who loves making their own gear and generally works well in combo for those who already have Enchantment leveled up a bit too.
7 Fortify Destruction
Applicable To: Head, Chest, Amulets, Rings
There’s a variety of different schools of magic that players can choose from when making a mage character, but the fact is that when it comes to killing, the most efficient school is the school of Destruction.
Fortify Destruction will basically increase the Destruction skill of its wearer and make them even more powerful, no matter which elemental Destruction spell they’ve chosen to cast.
6 Fortify Magicka Regen
Applicable To: Head, Chest, Rings
Another aspect for mages of Skyrim to consider is their Magicka pool, which will pretty much determine how much they can afford to cast spells in combat. The larger the pool, the better, especially for players who rely on spells exclusively for survival.
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Alternatively, players can also invest in a Fortify Magicka Regen enchantment, which boosts the rate at which Magicka actually regenerates, which removes some of the disadvantages of having a small Magicka pool.
